


The Game

by eveshka



Series: Tales of the Dawn King [15]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 12:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10741707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eveshka/pseuds/eveshka
Summary: Chess. A game of strategy and wit.





	The Game

**Author's Note:**

> Rating: T  
> Warnings: None  
> Characters: Ignis Scientia, Stasios Teleon (OC)  
> Time Period: During In the Shadow of Loss - Chapter 8  
> Location: Lestallum

Lestallum was hot and the sun was missing and Ignis was blind. Two of those things were vaguely related, and there was nothing to be done about any of them. Two out of the three at the best of times were tolerable, and all three? Suffice it to say that Ignis was draped on his chair, fingers trailed off in a book, and he was hot, miserable, and worst of all: he was _bored_.

Stasios had learned quickly that a bored Ignis was a highly volatile and dangerous thing, and he’d struggled with ways to occupy the Crownsguard in ways that kept his mind active. Braille had worked until Ignis had learned it, and then, there Ignis was, caught in the melancholy grips of ennui.

And then inspiration had struck, Stasios had dug deep into the Marketplace and come up to the balcony with, of all things, a chess set. “Ignis! I challenge you to a duel. To the death, black against white. Kingsglaive versus Crownsguard in the most refined of battles: Chess.”

“Chess,” Ignis’ voice was dry. “Hardly a fair fight when one’s opponent is bereft of sight.”

“Nonsense,” Stasios replied, setting out the board and beginning to place the pieces. “You are of sound mind and imagination, and I have little doubt that you recall the base strategy of the game. Exercise your mind and remember the coordinates of the game and I believe you will find the game quite playable. Shall we begin? I’ll start. King’s Pawn open, e2 to e4.” He moved the pawn with a click, and sat back, waiting.

Ignis frowned, and for a few moments, Stasios wasn’t certain this would work. But then he spoke, fingers still trailing along in the book, as if he was only humoring Stasios. “Bishop’s pawn to c5.”

“Knight to f3.” A slow start, but Stasios didn’t want to put Ignis off, he wanted to engage the other man, to make him think beyond the darkness that clouded his world. He wanted to break that shell around the stoic man and truly engage him.

“Pawn to g6.”

“Pawn to d4.” The bait was laid; the trap was set. The pawn laid out like a sacrificial lamb for the slaughter. The trouble was, Stasios couldn’t tell if Ignis was on the hunt.

Ignis moved his fingers along the page of his book for a moment, and then spoke. “I’ll take that pawn at d4.”

“I will take _that_ with my Queen to d4,” Stasios countered, moving the pieces, allowing his own lips to curve into a smile.

There was a quirk of thin lips as Ignis tilted his head, and the book went unnoticed for a moment. “Knight to g6.” He sounded as if he was musing the move over, but nodded and Stasios moved the knight.

The next move came to him quickly, and Stasios wasted no time moving the piece. “Pawn from e4 to e5.”

“Knight to c6.” Ignis replied, immediately putting Stasios’ Queen in the crosshairs. “Dare you risk it?”

At that point Stasios knew Ignis was in the game and not the book. A smile curled around his lips and he moved the chess pieces on the board. “Ah, indeed not, I think. Queen to a4.”

The book fell to the floor as Ignis leaned towards the game, considering the move. Finally, he countered. “King’s Knight to d5.”

“King’s Bishop to c4. Move it or lose it.” Stasios grinned, letting his voice color with the emotion. Now that he had Ignis hooked, the game was beginning to be fun.

Ignis tsked, pursed his lips, and then sighed. “Not the best move. King’s Knight to b6.”

“Recoverable, I’m sure. Queen to b3,” Stasios replied easily, watching Ignis, seeing the man step through the moves in his mind. He didn’t care if he won, he cared that he involved Ignis.

 

The game went back and forth, each man weighing strategies and outcomes. It was a clean game, though Stasios made several blunders. Ignis made a few of his own as well, but it was clear who the better player was, even if Ignis had sacrificed his Queen.

“Pawn to h1, and restore my Queen. Checkmate in four,” Ignis offered with a knowing smile.

Stasios stared at the board. It was true that he only had four pieces on the board, and three were pawns, but he’d had a good run, he thought. Better than his last game at the very least. And perhaps Ignis was being overly anticipatory. “Pawn to c4.”

“Queen to e4. Check.”

Okay, maybe he wasn’t. “King to c5.”

“Queen to e7. Check. Checkmate in one.”

Stasios blinked. Three pawns and the King. Surely he could defend against… a cold chill struck him, and he sat back, feeling ever so as if a daemon had walked over his grave. Ever so carefully, he reached out and tipped the white King carefully on its side and looked at the board.

“I concede.” Ignis had won. The King had fallen. So why did Stasios have such a feeling of dread, as if the game was an omen of sorts? When he lifted his gaze, he saw that Ignis felt the same. “Well, an interesting turn of events. Shall we retire to the kitchen and start dinner?”

Ignis reached out, lightly tapping his fingers along the board until he encountered the fallen King, and ever so gently, he took it into his hand, and set it to rights on the board. His touch lingered, and Stasios wasn’t sure what the word Ignis was whispering was. Upraise? Edgeways? Appraise? Always? Before he could focus on it, Ignis released the King and rose. “Yes, lets.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was much harder than many of you will think it was. Mostly because I did have to map out the entire game to make sure I didn't plot a move incorrectly. I also had to manipulate it to my own ends, as you see the final white pieces on the board were rather important. 
> 
> Also, due to the somewhat cryptic nature of this entry in the Tales, I will openly discuss in comments what I was doing with this, should people wish to ask. :) (RL is hugely in my way for my usual replies; I'm an accountant and it is our end of fiscal year. 10 hour workdays are my norm right now, and for that I apologize.)
> 
> Should you be curious, the specifics below when entered into chess generator websites will give you further insight:
> 
> FEN for final position (note the white pieces and the placement thereof. I rule.):  
> 8/1k5p/p2q4/1p3p2/P1PK1P2/6r1/8/8 w - - 5 51
> 
> PGN for full game:  
> 1\. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nf6 5. e5 Nc6 6. Qa4 Nd5 7. Bc4 Nb6 8. Qb3 Nxc4 9. Qxc4 Bg7 10. Qe2 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Qxe5 13. Qxe5 Bxe5 14. Bc3 Bxc3+ 15. Nxc3 b6 16. O-O-O Bb7 17. f3 O-O-O 18. Rhe1 Rhe8 19. Rd3 d5 20. Nb5 a6 21. Rc3+ Kb8 22. Nc7 d4 23. Nxe8 dxc3 24. Rxe7 cxb2+ 25. Kxb2 Bd5 26. Nc7 Bc4 27. Kc3 Bf1 28. Kb2 Bc4 29. Kc3 Bf1 30.Kb2 Kc8 31.f4 Rd7 32.Re3 Kxc7 33.g3 f5 34.h4 Bg2 35.Re8 Be4 36.Kb3 Rd2 37.Rh8 Rg2 38.h5 Rxg3+ 39.Kc4 b5+  
> 40.Kb4 Kb6 41.Rb8+ Bb7 42.Rxb7+ Kxb7 43.Kc5 gxh5 44.Kd4 h4 45.a3 h3 46.a4 h2 47.c3 h1=Q 48.c4 Qe4+ 49.Kc5 Qe7+ 50.Kd4 Qd6#


End file.
